Hermine wreaks havoc on City’s weekend concert, race schedule

Predictions for heavy rain and flash flooding caused by Hurricane Hermine have upended outdoor events in Virginia Beach this weekend, causing some cancellations, forcing some events indoors and creating uncertainty about still others, including the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on Sunday and Bruce Springsteen’s concert at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater on Saturday.

With parts of southeastern Virginia under a flood watch beginning Friday evening and continuing into late Saturday, the city issued a release Thursday, alerting residents to take precautions. The city also announced the cancellation of free outdoor concerts along the oceanfront on Saturday, part of Virginia Beach’s 23rd Annual American Music Festival, which begins Friday and ends Sunday. Saturday’s festival headliners, including UB40 and The Wallflowers, have been moved inside to the Virginia Beach Convention Center, 1000 19th St. Free outdoor concerts will go forward on Friday and Sunday as planned, as will ticketed concerts on those days at the Oceanfront at Fifth Street.

A city spokesperson had no word Thursday about the fate of the half marathon, a related one-mile race on Saturday morning, a related 5K run on Sunday, or the Springsteen concert, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

“Those are not decisions we make,” said Julie Hill, a spokesperson for the city.

Still, for runners and concertgoers who want to stay on top of possible weather-related cancellations, here is a roundup of resources.

As of 8 p.m. Thursday, organizers had not cancelled any of the scheduled races, the website says. The next update will be at 12 p.m. Friday.

Race organizers are working with the city, the Virginia Beach Police Department, the city’s emergency planner and the National Weather Service to track the forecast for both days and “have developed a contingency plan in the event of severe weather,” according to the website.

Any scheduling changes will be communicated by email, and on Facebook and Twitter. Runners can also receive SMS updates by sending the message “VBWEATHER” to 85007, using a mobile phone, the website says.

A decision about the one-mile run will be made at 5 a.m. Saturday, according to the city’s release. A decision about the half-marathon and a related 5K will be made at 8:30 p.m Sunday.

• General information about the Springsteen concert is available here. The site has a concert countdown clock, seating charts and options for buying tickets – including lawn seats priced at $48. But there is no information on the site about weather-related cancellation or postponements.

Doors to the convention center will open at 7 p.m. on Saturday, according to the city’s release. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Concertgoers will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. The venue has a capacity of 5,000 people.

Prices for the festival concerts range from $25, for day-of tickets, to $199 for VIP three-day passes.

Saturday’s show includes Cracker, The Wallflowers and UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue. UB40 has sold more than 70 million records, including the global hits “Red Red Wine” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” according to festival hosts, Beach Street USA. The Wallflowers won two Grammy Awards in 1998, one for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal for “One Headlight,” and another for Jakob Dylan for best rock song for writing “One Headlight,” according to the band’s website.